Breathing you in
by Damien4
Summary: Aeris/Vincent. a night before they enter the temple these souls find each other only to be dragged appart by fate.


**Breathing You In**

**By:** Damien

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy 7 doesn't belong to me. 

**Note:** I thought Vincent and Aeris would make a good couple, seeing as… ^.^; no can't think of a reason why, hehe. Ok this takes place the night before they enter the temple. It's a fic set too a 7 channel song by the same name. Listen it while reading if possible 

The night sky was littered with stars, bright blinking specks of light shining merrily down on the heads of the Planet's heroes where they sat around a small campfire after having finished a humble meal.

Their hearts where heavy with worry: What would they find in the temple of the ancients? Would Sephiroth have bested them again and got there before them? Would Shin Ra have stripped the temple apart to find the treasure within? The darkness stared back into their hearts un-answering as sleep crawled over them.

Yuffie was the first to bid the team a goodnight as she stood, stretched and let out a small yawn. She retired to her tent soon followed by Barret, Cid and Cloud. Red curled himself up by the roaring fire. He had a strong dislike for tents ever since he had to share one with Barret and his tail had set light to it. Vincent, who preferred the cold light of the moon to the harsh rays of the sun was wide awake and stalked of into the darkness. Tifa soon followed Cloud into his tent to "talk" about "their childhood" leaving Aeris sitting alone while the darkness grew around her and in her.

She knew what the temple held in its bowls and she knew what was coming. The Planet's whispers that she would soon join the spirits in the life-stream were getting louder and now she could even hear Sephiroth's manic laugher mocking her in her dreams. She knew her end was near and that soon she would have to leave her friends and join her ancestors in the fight to save the Planet.

She rose from where she was sitting on a log by the fire and made her way to the shoreline where the Tiny Bronco laid anchored. Slipping off her shoes and socks she climbed onto it and dipped her feet into the slightly warmed sea water. She smiled sadly to herself. She didn't want to die, to be laid to rest to save the Planet. She looked up at the stars overhead and wondered if she would see Zack in the Lifestream. She knew perfectly well that his body was alive in a drainpipe in the Midgar slums but his soul was gone. Was that in the Lifestream? Or was it trapped between worlds? Forever doomed to be stuck in a shell that it could not escape?

Tears were streaming down her cheek suddenly; angry tears that she always lost the people she cared about in one way or another, that love was denied to her because she was different, that Tifa would get Cloud. She hit the water angrily with her fist.

She jumped when the plane sank under her. She looked up and saw Vincent, his red eyes shining in the darkness. His eyes shone sadly at her as he sat down next to her without a word and with his human hand wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry over fate, for as it is your fate to die it's mine to lose my heart to the dead and life on." His voice was strangely choked with an emotion that could only be love but Aeris hardly noticed as she stared at him in shock. How did he know? At this stray though Vincent coloured and turned his face away to stare at the ocean. "You project your thoughts. Because I am so filled with Mako, Life stream's concentrated essence, I can hear the Planet and….You." Aeris only reply to this was a short little "oh…" 

 They sat for a moment listening to the ocean before Aeris turned to look at Vincent who was apparently lost in thought and didn't notice. Long ago she had decided that he was beautiful: strong, lean, tall, dark and mysterious. Now however his words filled her with a spark of hope but also sadness.

"Do you… Vincent do you…love me?" she felt stupid for asking him but when his eyes fell on her, deep with emotion she relaxed. "Yes…maybe even more than I ever loved…her." His eyes were now on her, softly glowing in the light of the stars. Aeris blushed looking into the refection of the moon in the water. It was swimming there in without a care for those that beheld it in its naked splendour.

She looked back at Vincent. He looked pained. Like the realisation of it all had struck him a blow so fatal that he would die from the mere thought of it. She cupped his face in her hands, turning it to face hers. Their eyes locked; burning ruby on soft emerald green. For moments they merely stared into each other's eyes, into their very souls. Then softly their lips pressed together. 

They made love on that small little plane, under the stars. Clinging to each other in the sweet harmonies of their wants and need being fulfilled; Clinging also out of the fear of knowing. Tomorrow they would be torn apart by fate and while Aeris went to the eternal rest, Vincent's spirit would wander the Planet, longing for her. His heart bleeding her name.


End file.
